Ex-Arsenal star who Wenger said ‘will be a big player for me’ left unemployed at 32 days after Premier League return
A FORMER Arsenal star, who was once hailed as a promising young player by Arsene Wenger, has been released by Luton just days after the club’s promotion to the Premier League.
Henri Lansbury, 32, made just 10 Championship appearances for the Hatters this season, scoring once.
And having fallen out of favour at Kenilworth Road, he is set to leave Luton on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of this month.
First team stars Sonny Bradley and Harry Isted have also been let go.
Lansbury’s departure from Luton comes 11 years after his Arsenal exit.
The midfielder joined the Gunners’ academy at the age of nine in 1999 and was highly regarded throughout his youth career.
He signed his first professional contract in 2008 and made his Premier League debut two years later against Fulham.
Lansbury scored one goal during his time with Arsenal – in a 4-1 win over bitter rivals Tottenham – but he struggled to establish himself in the first team.
That is despite Wenger once claiming that he would be a “big player” for the future.
While Lansbury was on loan at Watford in January 2010, the Frenchman said: “He will be a big player for me. He is at the moment having a very interesting experience [at Watford] that we judge to be very successful.
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“He will come back at the end of the season and practice with the first team in the next pre-season. Then we will assess the situation with him together.”
Lansbury left Arsenal to join Nottingham Forest in a £1million transfer in 2012.
He scored 33 goals in 150 appearances during his five-year stint with the Tricky Trees before signing for Aston Villa in 2017.
After a four-year spell at Villa Park he joined Bristol City on a permanent transfer, but he left just five months later to join Luton.